Hiking Yellowstone - 100 miles the Second

[Yvonne]

It seems this year I'm heading quite a few times to Yellowstone.
I just decided to do another trip of intense hiking in mid-August before heading back in September again.

All hikes will be day hikes, usually 10-15 miles a day, as this is what I normally hike on average. I often do long hikes that are usually 20-25 miles so I should be okay with my mileage goal to hit 100 miles in a week again.

I have a base camp at Madison and will cover a lot of the trails in the nearby and within an hour drive. Since it was a last minute decision there weren't many camping options left for this peak season.

Trails include:

• Sentinal Meadows/Fairy Falls Loop (have to hike it again)
• Shoshone Geyser Basin
• Purple Mountain and Monument Geyer Basin
• Mount Washburn
• Garnet Hill Loop Trail
• Lava Creek Trail
• Mary Mountain Lake to Mary Lake
• Cygnet Lake and Ice Lake Hellroaring Creek
• Mallard Lake Loop

I hiked the park intensively last year and already did Sepulcher Mountain, Avalanche Peak, Bunsen Peak and Osprey Falls, Beaver Ponds and many other trails, so this year I focus on new trails.

Originally I wanted to do Mt. Holmes as an overnighter, but I guess the trailhead is still not accessible because of the construction. Does anyone have information?
Since I do not have a shuttle, I'll do Mary Mountain trail only to Mary Lake and then turn around.

I purposely left the Lamar Valley trails out this time as this will be hiking adventure number three next year. The same for the Southeast side including Pelican Valley, Heart Lake area and further south.

Any thoughts and suggestions?

I guess on most of these trails I shouldn't have any issues with crowds

Sepulcher Mountain last year

 

[Bob]

There are Backcountry campsites relatively close to roads ... You may be able to stay at. Electric peak... Better as overnite tho

 

[scatman]

I'm extremely jealous @Yvonne! It looks like you have a group of fun hikes ahead of you.

You can get to Mount Holmes via the Grizzly Lake Trailhead, assuming it is not closed too due to construction. You'll love Shoshone Geyser Basin. Are you heading to Mary Lake from the Lower Geyser Basin side or the Hayden Valley side? I personally think the Hayden Valley route is the better of the two. Lava Creek might be a hot hike in August, it's pretty exposed so drink plenty of water along the way. The Cygnet Lakes and Mary Mountain routes are big time Grizzly areas, so be bear aware and extremely cautious if hiking alone.

 

[Yvonne]

I'm extremely jealous @Yvonne! It looks like you have a group of fun hikes ahead of you.

You can get to Mount Holmes via the Grizzly Lake Trailhead, assuming it is not closed too due to construction. You'll love Shoshone Geyser Basin. Are you heading to Mary Lake from the Lower Geyser Basin side or the Hayden Valley side? I personally think the Hayden Valley route is the better of the two. Lava Creek might be a hot hike in August, it's pretty exposed so drink plenty of water along the way. The Cygnet Lakes and Mary Mountain routes are big time Grizzly areas, so be bear aware and extremely cautious if hiking alone.

there is no need for you to be jealous, you have an awesome 14-day paddling /exploring trip going on this summer. I'm jealous of you, lol.

I know about Mary Mountain route. I couldn't do it last year because it was closed due to Grizzly activity. So this one might still be a maybe.

Unfortunately, Mt. Homes will not work at all, because the road construction is between Roaring Mountain and Apollinaris Spring. Both TH are in the construction zone but I will check with the visitor center if it is accessible.

I'm super excited about Shoshone Geyser Basin. This one is on my bucket list for a while and I'll make it happen this time.
Not sure yet which way I will take to Mary Lake. The Hayden side was closed last year and then the other side as well due to bear activity and a carcass. So I'll have to check for sure if it is doable at all.

I'm okay with hot and exposed hikes, that's what I did for three years when I hiked in Hawai'i plus when I do my summer hikes here in the desert.
And you can always start early to beat the heat.

Even though I hiked a lot in bear-prone areas last year (Sepulcher Mountain, Canyon area around Grebe Lake and Observation Peak) I didn't see one on the trail. I saw lots of scat and tracks and smelled where they marked their area, but luckily no bear activity while I did my solo hikes. I hope it will stay the same this year

 

[Yvonne]

So, Mount Washburn trail will be closed again in August for repairs.
It will only be accessible via Chittenden Road
Is it worth to do the short hike via Chittenden Road or should I skip the hike and find a replacement?
It seems I will never get my chance to do Mount Washburn, sort of a bummer

 

[TractorDoc]

Trying to think about the same things (which trails to hike) for this year's September trip as well.

I agree with @scatman that the Shoshone Geyser Basin is well worth the effort -- I hiked it many years ago in the days of cameras that used film. I am definitely wanting to get back there in the future (maybe September ) .

I've always wanted to take on the entire Mary Mountain Hike but was always solo and never had a guaranteed ride back!

 

[Yvonne]

Trying to think about the same things (which trails to hike) for this year's September trip as well.

I agree with @scatman that the Shoshone Geyser Basin is well worth the effort -- I hiked it many years ago in the days of cameras that used film. I am definitely wanting to get back there in the future (maybe September ) .

I've always wanted to take on the entire Mary Mountain Hike but was always solo and never had a guaranteed ride back!

that's the reason I can't do the entire Mary Mountain trail as well. One day maybe

and sad that I can't go in September anymore which I personally prefer. But with university in full swing in September I have to pick different months

 

[TractorDoc]

But with university in full swing in September I have to pick different months

Exactly how it works for me in Spring/Early Summer. Horse work is in full swing and I have to wait until Fall to get away.

Looking forward to what you come up with -- I'll be watching and possibly following your footsteps. . . literally!

 

[Yvonne]

Exactly how it works for me in Spring/Early Summer. Horse work is in full swing and I have to wait until Fall to get away.

Looking forward to what you come up with -- I'll be watching and possibly following your footsteps. . . literally!

you see my list in the opening thread, that's my plan plus additional extras for plan B
I'm definitely excited to go back for 8 nights

 

[Bob]

Couple others .. Jacobs coat geyser basin. Rabbit creek thermal area. Pelican valley.

 

[Yvonne]

Couple others .. Jacobs coat geyser basin. Rabbit creek thermal area. Pelican valley.

the southeast area has to wait for another trip. Especially pelican valley and vicinity. I have a base camp at Madison campground, it would be so much driving all the time. Since this trip is pretty much last minute there weren't so many campsites available. But that's okay, so I have a reason to come back.

 

[Bob]

Try looking in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Just NW of the park by Hebgen lk ..some nice areas I want to get to.

 

[Pringles]

If you want a shuttle on the Mary Mountain hike, contact me with information about when. I might be able to help you out.

 

[Jackson]

Try looking in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Just NW of the park by Hebgen lk ..some nice areas I want to get to.

Can confirm that it's a wonderful area. I try not to talk about it much online, but it is so worth a visit. Have bear spray though. Lots of grizzlies in there!

 

[Yvonne]

If you want a shuttle on the Mary Mountain hike, contact me with information about when. I might be able to help you out.

thanks for the offer. I might take you on it.
But I just want to see if the trail will be open when my trip to Yellowstone gets closer. Last year it was closed because of heavy Grizzly activity.

Can confirm that it's a wonderful area. I try not to talk about it much online, but it is so worth a visit. Have bear spray though. Lots of grizzlies in there!

I have to research the area a bit but it might be something for next year's annual trip. I guess some of the trails can be done as day hikes.
I usually do day hikes, some of them are longer as well, so all up to 25-30 miles is doable for me.

 

[Yvonne]

back from my second hiking trip and I had a great time.

I ended up hiking a total of 109 miles in 8 days but did a lot of different hikes due to unplanned circumstances.
Because I did not plan meticulously for a specific day but decided on a day by day base, I could easily switch and swap hikes and add some I had planned for next year.

The reason was my right foot. I had a high ankle sprain last December but it never healed. At least I thought it was a high ankle sprain.
After months of hiking, it always started to get really bad after long hikes. In addition, I also got Achilles Tendinitis in that same foot. After the last painful period in July, I rested for a few weeks to be ready for my Yellowstone hikes.
I thought I rested enough. Boy, was I wrong. After my 18 mile hike the first day, all the pain was back. The entire ankle was on fire. Bad timing, for sure.
So I just kept hiking, thanks to Ibuprofen and ended up with 109 miles.
Unfortunately, I could only do shorter hikes between 10-16 miles, but that was okay as well. The daily average was 16 miles.

Back home, I finally decided to get the ankle checked out and it turned out I had a small old fracture that never had the proper time to heal. The high ankle sprain was actually a small fracture, okay.
I'm baffled, how can you have a small fracture and still walk on it?
That old fracture and the constant use caused inflammation of my ankle joints and my Achilles.

For now, I'm out for quite a while which really sucks.
But all the stuff needs to heal. At least I can use the time to plan next year's trip to Yellowstone for another 100-miler, and hopefully, I'll be fully functioning then.

I'll post a few trip reports in the next few weeks and months, depending how busy I will be with school

 

[Titans]

back from my second hiking trip and I had a great time.

I ended up hiking a total of 109 miles in 8 days but did a lot of different hikes due to unplanned circumstances.
Because I did not plan meticulously for a specific day but decided on a day by day base, I could easily switch and swap hikes and add some I had planned for next year.

The reason was my right foot. I had a high ankle sprain last December but it never healed. At least I thought it was a high ankle sprain.
After months of hiking, it always started to get really bad after long hikes. In addition, I also got Achilles Tendinitis in that same foot. After the last painful period in July, I rested for a few weeks to be ready for my Yellowstone hikes.
I thought I rested enough. Boy, was I wrong. After my 18 mile hike the first day, all the pain was back. The entire ankle was on fire. Bad timing, for sure.
So I just kept hiking, thanks to Ibuprofen and ended up with 109 miles.
Unfortunately, I could only do shorter hikes between 10-16 miles, but that was okay as well. The daily average was 16 miles.

Back home, I finally decided to get the ankle checked out and it turned out I had a small old fracture that never had the proper time to heal. The high ankle sprain was actually a small fracture, okay.
I'm baffled, how can you have a small fracture and still walk on it?
That old fracture and the constant use caused inflammation of my ankle joints and my Achilles.

For now, I'm out for quite a while which really sucks.
But all the stuff needs to heal. At least I can use the time to plan next year's trip to Yellowstone for another 100-miler, and hopefully, I'll be fully functioning then.

I'll post a few trip reports in the next few weeks and months, depending how busy I will be with school

Love the photo! Bummer about the fracture @Yvonne . It's good you had it diagnosed. IME foot & ankle injuries unfortunately take forever to heal probably, because it's hard to completely rest. You mentioned previously you got the injury due to hiking in mid high boots. Since I'm always in mid-high Merrell boots, I was wondering what exactly happened? How did you get the fracture?

 

[Yvonne]

Love the photo! Bummer about the fracture @Yvonne . It's good you had it diagnosed. IME foot & ankle injuries unfortunately take forever to heal probably, because it's hard to completely rest. You mentioned previously you got the injury due to hiking in mid high boots. Since I'm always in mid-high Merrell boots, I was wondering what exactly happened? How did you get the fracture?

yeah, it happened while I was wearing mids! for the first time! Never ever again. I rolled my ankle and twisted it really bad. The culprit is just above the ankle. Where the shinbone ends. There is a small spot at the end where I got a fissure fracture. I guess because it wasn't a complete fracture, I never had a lot of issues and snowshoed, skied and hiked the entire season. I have barely any pain feeling in both of my legs due to nerve damage from a herniated disk. So I simply did not feel a lot of pain when it happened. I only feel pain when something gets really out of control and severe like in this case continuing doing stuff. At one point the entire ankle joint was inflamed, swollen and in distress.
It's crazy how such a small incident like rolling and twisting an ankle in mid-ankle boots can have such an impact.

For now, it is just rest and relax, physical therapy and probably ankle protection for a long time. This will hopefully also take care of the Achilles tendinitis.

Despite the silly outcome, my trip was awesome.
I had more than enough alternatives that worked.

 

[Stephanie B]

Sorry about your ankle, but I'm sure you still captured some beautiful scenery. Look forward to your TR and photos!

 

[Yvonne]

Sorry about your ankle, but I'm sure you still captured some beautiful scenery. Look forward to your TR and photos!

I guess I'm actually happy it started to act up like crazy. Or I never figured out why my foot was so painful.

And yes, tons of images to go through. It will take a while I guess. I'll definitely post a lot of Yellowstone reports soon